Arunachal Pradesh to get a mountaineering institute soon

The mountaineering fraternity has finally something to cheer about. The government of India is planning open an adventure institute in Arunachal Pradesh.

While flagging off the expedition of ace mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa to scale Mount Everest, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju today made the announcement of government’s plan to set up North East Mountaineering and Adventure Sports in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Arunachalees are adventurous but mountaineering could be commercialised in the state only when people will start enjoying it. Society has to evolve to make adventure as a source of sustenance,” he said.

“I am planning to convene a meeting soon with the Survey General of India, Indian Mountaineering Institute and the Army to explore the possibilities of developing mountain peaks as mountaineering destinations besides giving them names and defining clear-cut routes for expedition,” he said.

Restricted Area Permit (RAP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) had deterred growth of adventure tourism in the state, but has now relaxed restrictions in that direction.

“We have lifted restriction on RAP and PAP and the state government should work out other issues for development of tourism in the state.

“I want that all the peaks in the Himalayan belt should be opened for activities so that economic development begins.

A 70-year-old Chinese mountaineer who lost both legs to frostbite while attempting to climb Mount Everest four decades ago has successfully climbed the mountain in his fifth attempt.

Xia Boyu, 70, reached the top of the world’s highest peak at 8.40 a.m. on Monday, becoming the first double leg amputee to accomplish the feat from the Nepal side, said Tourism Ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha from Everest Base Camp, the Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday.

More than 50 other climbers also succeeded in scaling the summit, said the official.

The same day Steve Plain, an Australian, also reached the Everest, setting a speed record for climbing the highest mountain on each of the world’s seven continents.

Xia was part of a 20-man Chinese Everest expedition mission that tried to scale the 8,848 metre peak in 1975. However, about 200 metre from the top the climbers were forced to turn back due to high-altitude storms.

That time Xia suffered severe frostbite and lost both his legs. He returned to Mount Everest in 2014, but an avalanche killed 16 Nepali high-altitude guides that time, forcing the expedition to call off its summit bid.

Accurate Map of China, Pixabay

He was back in 2015, but again the climbing season was abandoned when a powerful earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing 20 on the Everest.

Xia made his last attempt in 2016 but bad weather forced him to turn back. His dream was nearly shattered after the government amended the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation in December, prohibiting double amputees, persons without arms and legs and blind persons from attempting to climb mountains in Nepal.

However, disability advocacy groups filed a petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that the government had violated the rights of differently-abled people and the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

Subsequently, the court overruled the controversial government ban in March, allowing Xia to fulfil his four-decade-old dream.

Xia was quoted by the People’s Daily telling a friend earlier this week that he had been preparing for the moment for 43 years.